The Storm of Change
by Wishful Zorua
Summary: Zack is an ordinary guy, stuck in a crappy job in the real world. He feels that there is nothing that cares about him or anything to care about. But that changes when a weasel like creature enters his life. Sorry for the not so prefect grammar and please review fairly.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, this is my first story I've made for this site. I've only been typing for a year so my grammar is not the best, so sorry to all those people who want perfect grammar. I hope you enjoy what I've wrote.**

In an ordinary gas station in the western part of Kentucky, things weren't so ordinary. Zack the cashier at the gas station had his hands tied and was on the ground. In front of Zack was a petty robber rummaging through the cash register. This kind of situation for anyone would be scary as hell, but for Zack this was the third time for him. He sat there calmly and didn't try anything because the last time he tried something, he got shot in the stomach. Oh yeah this robbery also has a gun, so there's a sense of wanting to live in Zack. The robber soon punched the cash register and turned around to Zack. He walked over to Zack and grabbed him by his shirt. "I want more money! Give me your wallet before I shoot you!" The robber yelled into Zack's face.

Zack held his anger and spoke calmly at the robber, who held a gun to his face. "No because I don't care what you do to me and plus call me Zanny. Next time try learning your hostage's name."

Of course this pissed the robber off and now he wanted to shoot Zanny. Luckily Zanny heard the police siren, so he took his chances. He kneed the robber in the gut and ran for his life. Zanny only managed to get 30 feet from the gas station, before hearing a shot ring out. Zanny soon felt a stinging pain in his leg and fell to the ground. Police cars quickly swarmed Zanny and the robber. The robber was quickly taken down by the police's k-9 unit. The police grabbed the robber and threw him in a police car. They helped Zanny out by taking him to the local hospital. Zanny found out that he got luck and that the bullet only nicked his leg, but was still given some medication and was told that the pain will only last for the rest of the day.

After the whole deal with the robbery and taking another trip to the hospital, all Zanny wanted to do was just go home and relax. He was still in pain from the bullet that nicked his leg, despite the medication he was given, and driving with this pain made driving difficult. The stormy weather and long distance to his house didn't help either. Zanny's house was at least a 40 minute drive from the hospital with a lot of turns on dirt roads to go through. He didn't mind the drive so much. It was a relatively peaceful drive through the forest, but with this storm starting to pour and thundering, he knew he had to drive faster before he gets stuck in the mud.

Zanny put his foot on the gas and started to speed down the dirt road, weaving through the tight turns and trees that had falling on to the road. The pain in Zanny's leg was acting up and it was hard to keep his foot pushed against the gas. He shouted in pain when the car hit a log on the road and made his leg bounce up and hit his leg against the steering wheel. He eased up on the gas and started to take his time on the drive back home.

By this time the rain was just pouring even harder and lightning bolts were striking the trees around him. The sudden flashes of lighting didn't scare Zanny, he was used to it because it was very common for trees to be struck. He ignored the bolts, despite the danger he was in with being in a metal box. He continued driving down the dirt roads, but by now it was a muddy road. He looked out the window and see what was ahead, but with this down pour, it was ruining his visibility. "OK where the hell is that gravel road? Damn this rain. It always has to make my day worse than it was before."

Zanny tried his best to see and find the road that lead to his gravel driveway, but no success. He drove for another half an hour, before stopping completely near a narrow wooden bridge. He laid back in his seat, letting out a sigh of frustration. Zanny's anger was starting to get to him and started to shout and punch the car horn. "God damn it! God damn it! Why is my life so fucking miserable!? Why do I deserve this bullshit life!? Being shot, beaten, and treated like nothing important, it's not right! Why can't something good happen!?"

As Zanny vented his anger and frustration, a lightning bolt struck mere feet in front of Zanny's car and setting the bridge on fire. This ok course scared the crap out of Zanny. "Holy shit!" He managed to jump from his seat to the back seat. He felt the pain in his leg from that jump. Zanny took several deep breaths after dealing with such a scare and pain in his leg. He rubbed the back of his head. "What the hell was that?" His question was answered when looked up and out the window of his car. What he saw was something that was hard to explain. The spot that lightning had hit was now charred ground with smoke rising from the crater. Beyond that was the old wooden bridge which by now was ablaze in a spectacular inferno. This inferno was strangely unaffected by the down pour and was somehow a purplish blue. The roaring fire danced in the rain with such beauty that it would have made a prefect picture to hang upon a wall or even in an art gallery.

Zanny was in awe as the bridge burn to the ground into nothing but charred ashes. He stared at the inferno for several more minutes as it continued to pour rain, but then the glow of the fire was outlining something that was sitting in the smoking crater where the lighting stroke. Zanny wasn't able to tell what it was due to the lack of light. He thought about if it would be worth it to see what it was. Zanny knew it wasn't worth being soaked to see what was in the crater, but something was driving him to get out of the car and see what that thing is.

Zanny sighed as the feeling to go and see what that thing is won. "This better be fucking worth the soak." He soon hopped out of the car and ran towards the crater. His boots were quickly caked with mud and his sprint was slowed down to walking speed as the muddy ground clung to the boots and the pain in Zanny's leg started to act up.

When he got within sight of the item that sat in the crater he came to a complete stop. Zanny was baffled by what he was seeing, but he didn't stand there like an idiot. He quickly grabbed the item and ran back to his car. Zanny slammed his car door and wiped the rain from his head. He was breathing heavily since he had to sprint through thick mud with a leg that had a bullet in it earlier. Zanny had lain back against his seat with the mystery item sitting in his lap and took a few more deep breaths. He closed his eyes and sighed. "I really hope this thing was worth it."

Zanny finally got his breath back and sat back up. When he finally looked at the thing that sat on his lap he was puzzled by it. What was on his lap was an egg that is the size of a basketball. It had a bright orange color to it with a large cream spot on it. Zanny picked it up and studied it for a moment. He knew it was an egg, but had no idea what could possibly produce an egg of this size and color. "I've watched plenty of Animal Planet, but I've never seen a thing like this before." Zanny studied the egg for a few more minutes, but then sat the egg in the passenger seat. "I figure out you are when we get home."

Zanny started the car back up, but when he put his foot on the gas the car didn't moved. He cursed to himself, knowing that the car was now stuck in the mud and he wasn't going anywhere. He punched the steering wheel and then lay back against his seat again. He looked back over the egg that sat against the passage seat and then to the pouring rain. Zanny saw that the old bridge was now gone and the remands had collapsed into the river. He sighed and rubbed his head while lying against his seat. _Just great, just freaking great, I'm now stuck in the middle of nowhere, not even close to my house, my car is stuck, and I have no idea where this egg came from. _

Zanny looked over to the odd colored egg and stared at it for a moment. He placed his hands on the egg and picked it up, placing it on his lap. He paused for a moment, staring at the egg. He didn't know why but he felt that he was somehow emotional connected to what was inside and that he would do anything to protect the living creature within. Zanny knew whatever was inside was fine by the warmth it was giving off, but then that warmth of life just disappeared. Zanny's eyes widen out of fear. _Oh crap, Oh crap, think fast, think fast Zack._ His mind thought at the speed of light for a solution, and then it suddenly clicked. He opened up his jacket and places the egg between his chest and jacket. _Oh god that was too close for the pour thing inside. I'm glad I managed to save it in time._

Zanny took a breath of relief. "I hope whatever you are that you will care about me, unlike everyone else in this world." Zanny yawned and stretched. He then lay back in his seat and soon reclined the seat. He got comfortable with the egg resting comfortably in his jacket. Zanny suddenly felt the egg move around a bit. Zanny chuckled as the movement in the egg tickled his stomach. "Well I'm really happy that you're excited to be warmed up by my jacket."

With all the events that happened today, it took the final toll on Zanny and he fell unconscious from exhaustion. The night was the most peaceful sleep Zanny has had for the longest time, but while he slept something strange started to happen. The egg within Zanny's jacket started shack furiously and began to crack. Zanny was out cold and didn't even feel the creature poke its head out from his jacket and licked Zanny's face. The creature that came from the egg soon curled up and fell asleep within Zanny's jacket.

The night soon passed and the morning sun came up. By now the storm has longed cleared up and the forest was flooded with the morning light. The once wooded area was now a muddy swamp. There was at least a foot of water covering the area and now the front end of Zanny's car was completely below water. With Zanny's car partly underwater, water has seeped into the car. Zanny was out cold and didn't even feel that his feet were in the water. It wasn't until the sun raised enough to shin light into his face to wake him up.

Zanny rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms and legs. He moved his legs around and felt the water that was below his seat. He was still groggy from the restless sleep he had and he only could feel pain in his right leg, so it took a moment for him to sense that his legs were in water. "What…what… why are…why do my legs feel like they're in water?" Zanny raised his seat back to the seating position and then looked at his legs. He then looked down at his feet, only to see greenish brown water covering his lower legs. He then looked out the front window and saw that his car was partially sunk into the mud. At this point Zanny just didn't care anymore and just wanted something in his life to care about and it would care back. With that thought he immediately remembered that strange egg he found in that lightning bolt crater.

He placed his hands on his chest to see if the egg was doing alright, but when he felt his jacket something wasn't right. The first thing was that he didn't feel an oval shape, but rather something that was a bunch of lumps. Also there were some crunching sounds. "What the hell?" Zanny looked down and opened the top of his Jacket to see if the egg was alright. _I really hope I didn't crush the thing. _

When he looked down his jacket to see if the egg was alright, there was no egg, but rather something orange, covered in fur, and was staring right back at Zanny. The thing within Zanny's jacket immediately jumped from the jacket and started to lick Zanny's face. Of course Zanny jolted back from the fury of kisses from the friendly creature and picked up the thing. He managed to pull the thing out from his jacket and finally got a good look at it. What Zanny saw was in fact the strangest creature he's ever seen in his life. It has bright orange fur all over it, except the fur on its belly, around its mount, and a large spot above its tail, which is a cream color. It also has some black marks near its mouth. The creature resembled some kind of weasel or otter, but that's not the most striking features of the thing. It has this bright yellow ring around its neck which Zanny couldn't understand why there's a point for a creature having this ring around its neck. It also has a strange tail. The tail was like a regular tail until it reached half way and it spilt into two tails. At the end of both tails they have cream colored tip. The last noticeable feature was the blue fins on its forelegs.

Zanny continued to hold the strange weasel thing, studying the features of it. While Zanny held the creature, it was furiously wagging its tail, with its tongue hanging out. Zanny looked back up to the happy weasel's face and saw its tongue hanging out, like an adorable Great Dane. This display of joy actually managed Zanny smile and forget about all the problems he has. Seeing that smile on Zanny's face, the creature tried to wiggle free from Zanny's grasp and give him a bunch kisses by licking his face. The attempt of affection made Zanny chuckle and actually caused his grip to loosen. The weasel took advantage of this and leaped forward, peppering Zanny's face with licks. The onslaught of kisses made Zanny laugh, while trying to remove the creature from he's face. After a solid minute of licks, Zanny finally got a grip on it and held the weasel in front of him again.

The creature still had its joyful smile, with its tongue hanging out. "Bui bui buiii!" The creature barked with an overjoyed tone. Zanny was taken aback when in the creature had spoken. It wasn't a bark like he had expected, but rather the repeating the sound 'Bui'. "You're the strangest thing I've ever seen in my life." Zanny said as he placed the weasel in the passenger seat. The creature was confused by what He said, but before it could say anything Zanny continued to talk. "But you're pretty cute and unbelievably friendly." With that complement the creature's face lit up with joy. It ran up to Zanny's lap and placed its forepaws on Zanny's leg. "Buuuui buui bui buiiii bui bui bui!"

Zanny smiled at the creature's natural dialect. He placed his hand on the weasal's head. "The way you speak is so cute." The Weasal got the biggest smile upon its face. With being called cute and adorable so much the creature, it thought it couldn't possibly feel anymore joy.

There was a sudden grumbling got both Zanny and the weasel attention. They both looked towards the creature's stomach. With looking down at the weasel's stomach, Zanny accidently looked further down between the creature's legs. He immediately saw its gender and felt bad for looking down there because it was such an inappropriate thing to do, but it was good to know that it's a girl. There was another grumbling sound, which got Zanny's attention. The grumbling was louder than the last time and it echoed within the car. Zanny knew right away what that meant. _Oh no, why know? Why does this have to happen in all of places? _The weasel looked up at Zanny with the saddest look, it whimpered.

Zanny sighed and looked down at the pour thing. He felt awful for not having any food with him. He knew it was important to feed a newborn and knew it was going to get very noisy in this car. Zanny saw the tears starting to form around her eyes. Seeing that the weasel was about to cry, Zanny started to flinch. Zanny waited for the ear piercing, but for some reason it never came. He looked down and saw that the weasel was staring past him and out the driver window. Zanny was puzzled by the sudden change in mood. The creature kept staring out the window with great curiosity. She jumped on to his lap and ran to the window. She pressed her forepaws against the window, staring out it intensely. Zanny was still confused on what could have stopped a newborn from crying.

Zanny kept silent and waited for whatever was keeping the weasel's attention. After a few minutes, there was the soft sound of an engine. As time went on the sound of an engine became louder and louder. The weasel started to bark as the sound grew louder. Zanny started to look out the window and saw something moving closer, towards them. When it finally got close enough, Zanny saw that it was an older man on a motor boat. By this time the weasel was jumping back and forth between the front and back seats.

The boat pulled up next to Zanny's partly sunk car. The old man stood up from his seat and over to the car. He looked through the sun roof of Zanny's car and knocked on it. Zanny looked up at the old man looking through his sun roof. He pushed the button by the sun roof and it slowly squeaked opened. The old man was ginning when the sun roof finally opened fully. He smacked his lips together, and then spoke. "Looks like ya need some help getting out of here son."

Zanny looked up and finally got a good look at the old man. The old guy was probably somewhere around the age of seventy. He was wearing some worn out overalls, with a white t-shirt that's not so white anymore that's covered with all kinds of stains that no one really could tell what they're from. He also wore a hat that belonged to some old auto shop that's been out of business for years. When the old guy asked if Zanny needed help, he immediately looked over to the weasel that was jumping on the seats in the back.

Zanny slowly looked back at the old man, who was still waiting for an answer. The old man gave Zanny a look that from what Zanny could tell meant 'Well are you going to answer me or are you going to waste any more time.' "Yeeaah…I could use some help out here, but don't freak out with what I'm bring with me."

The old man grunted by what Zanny said. "Boy I've lived around here for a good five decades and I've seen more shit than you've put in the outhouse." With that Zanny took a deep breath and then climbed out of the car from the sun roof. The weasel of coused ran towards Zanny as he got out of the car. She whimpered when Zanny left the car and she couldn't follow him. Zanny of didn't forget her and lowered his hands down to grab her. Before Zanny pulled her out of the car, he warned that old guy not to freak out. "I don't think there's a thing on this god's green earth that would scare me."

After that finale reassurance from the old man that he wouldn't be scared, Zanny took the weasel out from the car and held her in his arms. When he finally turned around, towards the old man, the old guy actually had a genially surprised look upon his face. The old man stuttered as he spoke. "Well…that….I…..that's…." The old man took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Boy, that thing is not of this god's green earth. Where did you get such a thing like that?"

"Well I found her when I got stuck here last night. She's only a baby because she's really friendly." Zanny said while worrying what this guy will do. While waiting for the old guy to respond, Zanny remembered something important. "Oh yeah…uh do you um….have any food? She was about to cry, right before you showed up."

The old man snapped out of his confusion after Zanny ask if he has food. "Uh yeah…I have some food for the little one." He walked over to the cooler and pulled out some fresh fish meat. He handed the fresh meat to the little weasel, which was still in Zanny's arms. The weasel leaned forward from Zanny's arms and took a sniff at the meat. When the delicious smell of food hit her noise, she instantly grabbed the meat from the old guy's hands and chowed down.

Both Zanny and the old man watch the baby weasel chow down on the fresh meat. When the weasel finished eating the fish meat, she chirped with delight about the taste of her first meal. She soon yawned and fell asleep in Zanny's arms. Zanny thought the sight of the weasel sleeping was pretty damn cute.

The old man coughed and got Zanny's attention. "I think it's time to leave, since you're companion there is asleep. By the way, my name is Paul and what would your name be son?"

"Zack, but everybody just calls me Zanny." He said as he looked down at the weasel. _If you're going to be with me, then I'll just call you melody. You're so energetic and happy that you bring a new tone of happiness in my life. _

"Alright Zack, we'll be going to my house. It'll be half an hour before getting there. You don't mind leaving your car there, stuck in the mud and water?" Paul said as he began to yank the cord to start the motor.

Zanny just shucked his head no. Paul nodded and finally got the motor started. When they finally started to move, Zanny looked back down to Melody, as she slept in his arms. _I don't care about my car. I don't' even care if I lose my job, as long as I have you in my life, I'll never be unhappy again. _

After getting to Paul's house, Zanny had found out that last night was a major storm that many people had to evacuate their homes. Thousands of homes were flooded or completely destroyed last night, which included Zanny's house. He didn't care because he was enjoying the time playing with Melody. Paul's wife was surprised by Melody, but she thought Melody was very cute. Melody loved being called cute and started to play with Paul's wife.

Zanny and Melody spent about a month with Paul and his wife because Zanny had to sort out the insurance he had on his home and car. When the insurance was all sorted out, Zanny called his job and said that he quit. Paul asked why Zanny quit his job and Zanny said that with the money he got from insurance and the money he'll get from selling the land he owned, he planned to move to swamp area of Louisiana, since he discovered that Melody was a natural swimmer and would be better off in an area with water. Paul didn't judge Zanny for his decision and gave him a farewell.

After another month looking for a house, Zanny finally decided to buy a house boat and moved it by a local river bank. With this new home and Melody able to fight against anything in the swamp, Zanny found that this place was a perfect place to live with his new companion. Zanny also managed to get a job at a bait shop and found it a lot less stressful than his old job. With Zanny's life finally at peace, he can enjoy life for all it can offer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Edit: Hello Everyone who comes across this story. Just had to do some editing because the name I wanted to use for Zanny's boss didn't work so I changed it to Mr. Pitts . I hope you all enjoy this story I made.**

Time has passed by peacefully for Zanny, since Melody came into his life and after he had moved to Louisiana. Before Melody or Louisiana, Zanny was stuck in western Kentucky with the worst job possible. He had worked in a gas station, near a not so friendly neighborhood. Sure the locals would leave the place alone because it's where to get gas for their vehicles, every so often the place he worked at would get robbed by some punk who managed to get ahold of a firearm. Zanny at first was never in the store when it was robbed because he worked the day shift, but after the last guy went insane from being held at gun point one too many times, Zanny had to take the possession.

Now Zanny has been in a hostage situation at least five times. The first time was the scariest moment in his life and he would never forget it. Three guys that had a little too much to drink and all had firearms. They were in no condition to be using guns and Zanny knew this very well. Luckily the police showed up and they were easily taken down. The other times weren't as bad as the first time, but with that kind of stress, Zanny mentally blocked those events, except the one on the day he meet Melody.

That day was the day that Zanny was saved from insanity himself. When the moment that Zanny saw the egg that contained Melody, he felt connected on an emotional level that was indescribable. He saved the egg from the raging storm and was surprised to see what Melody was. She looked like a weasel with some very odd features that shouldn't be there. The oddities were of course a shocker, but with the personality of Melody, they were easily over looked.

After the events of that day, Zanny's life has improved tremendously. He managed to leave western Kentucky behind and enter Louisiana with high hopes that it would be nothing like his life in western Kentucky.

The sound of alarm clocks or the simple shove from the one you love is what usually wakes up someone in the morning, but for some people it's none of those. The dawning sun was punching its way through the thick vegetation and the sounds of birds swept through the early morning air. It was a beautiful sight for anyone to see, but for Zanny, he sleeps right through those picture perfect mornings. When the first time Zanny had saw this, he thought it was a good way to wake up in the morning, but it became a common thing to daily life for him so he didn't think it was worth waking up for anymore.

The sun and the songs of various birds could wake up anyone in the early morning, but for Zanny, it didn't even bother him. The thing that woke Zanny up almost every single morning is what is Zanny's love and joy of his life.

The sound of claws on wood echoed throughout the small house. The sounds didn't entirely reach Zanny's ears, as his door was closed. The same sound came again and it became louder for every second. When the sound became louder, it began to cause Zanny to roll around in bed, while still sleeping. The claws against wood came to a sudden stop. There was then a new sound that came. It was a rhythm of soft thuds, but shortly followed by the clanging of metal. The handle of Zanny's door slowly moved and the door popped open. The door was opened only a little, but then suddenly slammed shut. The loud thud of door to doorframe didn't even bother Zanny at all. Soft growls, so came from the edge of Zanny's bed.

The growling is what finally got Zanny's attention. He stirred from his rather heavy sleep and rubbed his eyes. "Wha…what's with… the growling?" Zanny mumbled, then yawning with stretching his arms. He got his answer as something heavy landed on his chest. Zanny rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times to focus his vision. What was on his chest was a familiar weasel like creature that had its split tail wagging back and forth. It was Melody, giving Zanny his daily wakeup call, by coming into his room and jumping on to his chest.

"Buuiii bui bui!" Melody barked happily as she rolled over on Zanny's chest, with her tail still wagging. He chuckled at the sign of affection from Melody. He replied to her by rubbing her belly. "Moring Melody. Are you having your usual fun waking my lazy butt every morning?" He said in a sly sense of tone. "Bui bui buui buiii." Melody chirped at him in the same sly tone that Zanny just used at her.

After Zanny was done spoiling her by rubbing her belly, she rolled over back on her belly and scampered off Zanny's chest. She hopped off the bed, on to the floor and ran out the bed room door. Zanny watched as she bolted from the door, down the hall, and taking a turn into the Kitchen. Zanny slowly started to get out of bed, after minute of Melody bolting to the kitchen. He sat at the edge of his bed, looking out the window that allowed nature light into his room. It was always nice to have a beautiful view to look at every morning. He then turned his attention to the mirror that hung upon his wall. He looked at himself in the mirror for a moment, seeing that he still had yet to change out of his white t-shirt and a simple pair of gym shorts. He then looked down at his right leg and saw the scar that ran across the side of his leg. It was from that bullet that nearly hit him on the day that Melody came into his life. He smiled at how everything after that day has gotten better since then, even though the pain from the memories of the days before Melody still stung like a fresh wound.

Those thought were soon interrupted by a sudden shriek. "BUIII BUUUUIIIIII!" From that unexpected scream, Zanny jumped to his feet. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" Zanny yelled back. He had forgotten for a moment that the one thing he had learned over the past several months with Melody is that you don't mess with her and food. Zanny had learned his lesson months ago when it comes to food and Melody.

The day Zanny learned his lesson was when he kept teasing Melody with her favorite food, fresh salmon meat. Zanny teased her by holding the meat high above his head and making Melody jump for it. Melody found the teasing amusing for the first few minutes, but the fun eventually wore thin has the desire for the delicious soon took over. She stopped jumping and started to growl. Zanny played lightly with her growling and continued to tease her. Melody's response was that she got some distance between her and Zanny. She jumped in the air and wiped her tail at Zanny. What happened next took Zanny completely off guard. There was a sudden window shattering crack in the air and Zanny felt something powerful hitting his chest, knocking him down on his chest. When he finally was able to sit up, he was utterly speechless at what just happened. Melody was sitting happily on the floor, eating her well-earned treat, but around was what was grabbing Zanny's attention. All the windows were shattered and behind Zanny, part of the wall looked like an axe was just taken to it.

The best way Zanny could describe what had happened that day was Melody somehow made a powerful sonic boom. The damage to the house was easily fixed and luckily Zanny didn't have to deal with any neighbors on what Melody did. He knew Melody was special and one of a kind, but after that incident with the fish meat, he knew that there was more to Melody than what her appearance let on.

Zanny, now finished changing from his sleeping wear to his day cloths, which consisted of shorts and a normal plain gray t-shirt, he ran down the hall and entered the kitchen. He instantly saw Melody with her arms crossed, a frown upon her face, and her tapping her paw on the floor impatiently. Zanny tried not to laugh, but it to him it was really cute to see her acting like a little child. Zanny did find it interesting that Melody, if she wanted she could walk around on her rear-legs and not even be bothered not having her fore-legs for balance. It was weird to Zanny that she could walk around like a human, but he guessed it was from her watching him walk all the time and she just want to imitate him the best way she could. After a while Zanny gave up on trying to figure out how she did it.

Melody let out a soft growl as her patients for her really started to run thin. "Ok I get. You're hungry; I'm getting your food right now." Zanny said as he opened the fridge. The opening of the fridge instantly eliminated Melody's anger and she began to get excited as Zanny pulled out her breakfast. "Bui bui bui buuuii bui!" Melody barked excitedly, as she jumped up and down next Zanny.

Zanny placed Melody's breakfast on the counter and began to open the package. Melody's breakfast was of course fish, because that's the only thing Zanny knows that she likes. Zanny finished taking the raw fish meat out of the package and placed the meat in Melody's bowl. He then placed the bowl on the floor and let Melody dive into her food. She consumed the meat rather quickly and then pranced over to her bed. The bed was like one of those dog beds. Her bed was in the small living room next to the couch. She stepped into her bed and circled around a few times, before plopping down, falling asleep instantly.

Zanny smiled at this because she would do this every morning and it looked darn cute to him. By now he was getting his breakfast together, which was just a simple bowl of cereal and a glass of milk. After getting his food ready, he sat down at tiny table meant for two people only and began to eat his cereal. While eating, Zanny's eyes keep looking towards Melody, who was now in a deep sleep. Looking over Melody, Zanny knew that she has gotten bigger since the day he found her. When first getting her, she was about fifteen pounds and maybe ten inched from nose to tail or split tail. Now over the several months that Zanny has owned her, she was gained weight up to sixty pounds and was little over two feet from nose to tail. She was in fact bigger than she used to be and with that weight, her jumping on him hurts and when she wants to be picked up, it becomes difficult. But truly, Zanny didn't mind at all because she shows that she cares about him and that makes up for all the faults that Melody has.

After finishing his breakfast, he placed his and Melody's dishes in the sink and began to get ready for work. He got himself cleaned up and got his boots on. He walked to the door, but stopped and went over to Melody. He kneed down and petted her head. This of course woke her up and her eyes opened up slightly. Zanny smiled. "Sorry Melody, but I have to go to work now, so don't get into any trouble while I'm gone." Melody's response was just a mumble, then she closed her eyes again, falling back to sleep again.

Zanny stood up and went back to the front door. He stopped and looked at the door. On the door was a doggy door. It was there so that Melody could get out of the house and run free for a bit. He knew that the waters around his house could have hidden dangers that could potentially harm Melody, but he had no worries. With the time he has been with Melody, He's learn that she was built for swimming and that she could fight off anything in the waters around his house. Zanny's confidence comes from an event that happened not long after moving into this house. One night, an alligator managed to get in. This thing was huge and it had broken the door down. It came looking for a meal and instantly spotted Melody. That was a big mistake on the alligator's part. During that night Zanny was sleeping, but a sudden loud cracking sound had woken him up. When he got to the living room and turned the lights on, he was speechless. In front of him was Melody, wagging her tail with an alligator right behind her that was knocked out. That night was of course a shocker, but it gave Zanny some reassurance that Melody would be fine on her own at home

Zanny opened the front door, making sure it was locked, and stepped out on to his deck. He closed the door behind him and began to walk to his car. He crossed the little walk way that connected his house to shore and walked down the gravel path that lead to the simple garage that had his car. He opened the garage door and looked at his car. He had one of those 1970's muscle cars; he couldn't remember what kind it was, but knew it was need for where he lived. The path to his house is mostly mud and he needed a car that had the power to get out of the mud. Sure a truck would do just fine, but Zanny never really liked trucks for some reason.

He got into his car, put the key into the ignition, and pulled out of the garage. He then began to drive down the dirt road to his job. The one thing that Zanny didn't notice when pulling out of the garage is that he had an unknown passenger in his car. Melody had managed to sneak behind Zanny and hopped into the back seat without him knowing. Zanny never took Melody to work with him and she never got to meet new people to play with. Her curiosity and wanting to meet new people drove her to secretly join Zanny to work. She knew he was going to be surprised and mad, but she didn't care because she wanted to play.

Zanny continued to drive down the dirt road, completely unaware that Melody was under the passenger seat. His job was alright, but not as bad as his previous one. He worked at a bait shop, but to him it was more of a fishing store. The owner insisted it was a bait shop and nothing more, despite the fact that they sold other stuff to help people fish and hunt the diversity of creatures in the swamp.

The drive from Zanny's house and his work place wasn't that long at all, just a 30 minute car drive. Zanny pulled out from the road and drove into the gravel parking lot that surrounded the bait shop. Zanny opened his car door and got out of the car. He stood there for a moment, resting his arm on the door. He was staring at the place he worked at. It wasn't that too large of a building. It was probably the size a convent store, which now that Zanny thought about it the building did look like it had use to a convent store. It was actually the only building for some distance. The reason for that is the owner wanted the place to be close to the swamp for convenience for the people who fished in the swamp.

While Zanny stared at his work place, Melody snuck out of the back seat and passed by Zanny, who was too deep in thought to have noticed her. Melody ran to the rear of the car, while keeping an eye on Zanny. She didn't want to reveal that she was here, just yet. She wanted to surprise him and see the joy on his face. She smiled at the thought of making Zanny happy. She could never figure out why, but whenever he was happy, she was happy. When Zanny was sad, she was to. It was something unexplainable that drove herself to make Zanny's life the best.

After spending a few minutes staring at his work place, Zanny finally shut his car door and walked to the front door of the Bait Shop. He went up the door and pulled out the key to the shop. The key that he was using was given to him by the owner because Zanny would always show up earlier than anyone else and the owner knew Zanny was trust worthy. He soon placed the key in the lock, turned it, and went inside the shop. Melody was watching Zanny enter the shop; she was going to knock on the door to surprise him, but an aroma had caught her noise. She wandered off; sniffing the ground, for whatever was cause that delicious smell.

When Zanny entered the shop, he immediately turned on the lights and headed to the checkout area. He walked behind the counter and sat on the stool he was provided. It was just like his old job, but the difference was that wasn't going to be someone shooting at him and the fact that he had something to go home to and take care of. He sat back in his stool, with a magazine at hand. There was also a radio playing. It wasn't loud, but just loud enough to hear it through the store. There wasn't much else to do in the store, besides sit and wait to see if a customer came by.

The boredom of sitting on that stool was broken, when the bell above the front door was rung. Zanny didn't notice that a man who was around the age of sixty or seventy had just entered the store. The man was wearing overalls with a normal t-shirt, and a trucker hat. The man had this oversized white beard that made Santa clause's beard look like peach fuzz. The Man looked around the store and then over to Zanny. He smirked at Zanny as he has yet to notice that the old man was there. "Morning Zackary. You enjoy your time reading?"

Zanny looked up from his magazine then back down. It took him a second to realize who he just ignored. His eyes widen and he nearly knocked over his stool as he stood up. "Oh! Morning, Mr.…Uh…umm. Uh hi boss." Zanny said weakly while giving an even weaker smile to his boss.

The old man started to crack up and laugh at Zanny for forgetting his name. Zanny started to feel embarrassed and began to feel his checks were turning red. This made his boss laugh even harder to the point breathing was becoming difficult. The old man coughed a few time after a few times and then cleared his throat. "hee he *cough* hee he ha ha… Oh that *cough* that was too funny. I haven't laughed like that in a long time. Oh and boy Mr. Pitts it's not boss. I ain't some ring leader."

"Uh…sorry for not being ready for you or any customer that could of come." Zanny said in an apologetic tone. Zanny looked down at his feet at the embarrassment he was feeling. Zanny's embarrassment made laugh even more.

After Mr. Pitts' second moment of laughter, he wiped a tear from his eye. He chuckled a few more times before finally stop laughing. "That's no problem Zackary, just don't do it when a real customer. I'll be in my office, so do some good today." Mr. Pitts said.

Mr. Pitts left Zanny to go to his office, which was in the back in the store. Zanny sat back down in his stool, still feeling rather embarrassed still. He picked up his magazine and started to read again. "I hope I don't make a fool of myself again in front of a customer." Zanny said to himself as he turned the page of his magazine.

While Zanny was dealing with embarrassment from his seventy year old boss, Melody was sniffing the ground furiously to find the source of that delicious smell. She moved her head back and forth, sniffing the ground. Getting the trail of the scent was difficult, but Melody's desire for food was driving her forward. The scent of food Melody was following lead her around the building that Zanny had went inside earlier. She came to the back of the building and looked up from the ground to see if there was any food around. Melody saw that there was an open door to the back of the building that Zanny went into earlier. The delicious aroma was coming from that door and Melody couldn't help herself, but to run into the building. She sprinted into the door and found that she was in a room full of boxes that all smelled wonderful. The room was dimly lit by one light bulb and that all these boxes were stacked on top of each other, expect a few that were open. She was practically drooling over all these boxes that must have food with in them. She wandered up to one of the boxes. She climbed up on a chair that was conveniently and looked what was inside the box. Melody's eyes widen at what she saw that was inside the box. There were pre-packaged chicken breasts in the box and just the sight of the chicken was bringing on the waterworks in Melody's mouth.

"bui buuui." Melody said as she pulled one of the packages out of the box. She stared at the chicken as drool ran down the side of her muzzle. What made Melody drool so much over the chicken was that it was her favorite raw food, besides fresh salmon. Her eagerness finally won over and she grabbed the closest package to her. She bit into the package, ripping it open, and scarfing down the meat in an instant. She started to wag her split tail back forth after eating the delicious meat. She purred from how delicious the meat is and couldn't help herself but eat another.

After about ten to twenty packages of chicken, Melody hopped off from the chair and stumbled towards the exit while on her two rear paws. There was the sudden sound of another door being opened up.

An old man came through the door with a flashlight. "What the hell is that humming sound?" The old man grumbled as he started to shin the light around the dimly lit room.

Melody at this point started to panic as she never really dealt with another person besides Zanny. She crouched on all fours and began to back up towards the exit. She really didn't know what to do and was just going with her gut. When the light shunned upon her, she hissed and ran out the door.

"What the hell is that thing!?" The old man yelled as he fell back onto some empty boxes.

After being embarrassed, Zanny was just chilling on his stool, reading a magazine. Everything in the store was quite, until there was a muffled shout and then a thud. Zanny stood up when he heard that sound. _It sounds like it came from the storage area. _Zanny thought to himself. Zanny immediately walked toward the door to the storage room. He grabbed the door handle, opened the door, and walked into the room.

When Zanny got in the storage room, he saw an old man with a flashlight, lying on the ground with some boxes around him. "Mr. Pitts what happened to you!?" Zanny said as he ran to his boss's side, kneeing down to him and helping him up.

Mr. Pitts rubbed the back of his head. "Son of bitch, it was big ass rat that scared the hell out of me. The thing was huge and it managed to eat some of the gator bait." Mr. Pitts said.

"Well do you need me to set the rat traps again, sir?" Zanny said. He still felt concern over the seventy year old.

Mr. Pitts grunted and spat on the ground. "Hell to the no Zackary. That beast of a rat won't go down by a simple rat trap. It'll take a rifle to kill it." Mr. Pitts frowned as he thought for a moment, before speaking again. "But since this place is near other people's hunting grounds, we aren't allowed to kill the beast."

Mr. Pitts sighed in frustration. "Zackary, just go back to work and forget about the filthy beast. I know I won't forget about it though." Mr. Pitts soon left the storage, cursing the beast that came in and devoured some of the inventory.

Zanny did what he was told and headed back to his spot. He sat in his stool, but didn't return to reading a magazine. He thought about this so called filthy beast. There were in fact a lot of creatures in the swamp, but Zanny knew that Mr. Pitts has lived here for a very long time and shouldn't be scared by a simple rat. Zanny felt that it was something else. Something that was not natural to this place or even to this world. Zanny's mine instantly went to Melody. That thought made him laugh. "Yeah like Melody followed me all the way here and scared my boss." Zanny laughed a bit more before finally shrugging off that thought of the unknown beast. He returned to his job and continued to work.

Melody was scared out of her mine and had bolted into the swamp, after being scared by that old man. She ran through the swamp as fast as she could and wouldn't stop, no matter what. After running for who knows how long, Melody had finally came to a stop to take a breather. She was breathing heavily and was still shaking from accidently scaring and causing that old man to fall. She felt terrible, not just from running for her life, but mentally from scaring that old man. She's never scared anyone before and caused them to fall on the ground. The only thing she could do was hope that Zanny had heard the old man scream.

Melody's eyes widen at the thought of Zanny. She looked around to see where she was, but saw that she was in unfamiliar territory. She felt fear build up inside her at the thought of not being with Zanny. She never liked not being with him. Zanny going to work was understandable as she knew he would be back, but this time was different. She was now the one who was away from him and not Zanny away from her. The fear in her started to make her panic and she bolted the way she came. The day was starting to come to an end and Melody knew it as the sky turned orange with the sun setting. Luckily her paw prints where still fresh in the swampy mud. She ran the path that she had just used. Her ear twitched and she suddenly stopped. She turned her head and followed the sound. When she found the source of the sound, it had lead Melody to an asphalt road.

On the other side of the road was a cream colored sedan. There was a man looking at a map, leaning against the car. He looked about the same height of Zanny, but he looked a bit skinnier. The man was also well dressed and really out of place in this area. Melody just stared for a moment, looking at the poor man who seemed to be lost. She only stared at the man for moment, but then something caught her attention. Right next to the man's legs was a strange looking fox. It had gray fur and some bits of red fur around its paws and on parts of its head. The strange fox barked at the man, which caught his attention. The man looked down at the fox. "Not now Oval. I'm trying to figure out the way to get out of this swamp."

The fox barked again, with a little bit of a growl at the end. The Man sighed and folded the map up. "Well it looks like we have to go back to that motel and spend another night there. We'll go by that bait shop tomorrow and ask for directions." The man then bent down and petted the fox on the head. "Oval, looks like you have to put on your disguise again for now."

The fox yapped with joy. The fox that was called Oval, jumped into the air, turning into a purple ball. The ball soon disappeared as did the fox. In the place of the fox and that ball was a little girl who looked to be about seven. The girl smiled and hopped into the back seat of the sedan. The sedan soon took off and drove down the road.

While the girl got into the car, Melody saw that fluffy tail from the fox on the girl's rear-end. Melody was of course in shock, as was the old man was that she had scared. It took a moment for her to collect herself, before heading back to Zanny's car. Melody did manage to hear that one guy say something about a bait shop. When Melody thought about it, she knew that bait shop that was mention was the place where Zanny worked. If that man was going to be at Zanny's work place, so was that transforming fox. Melody thought about that fox for a moment and then decided that she should talk to the fox. The fox seemed to be unique as Melody was, with strange abilities.

After spotting the strange fox, Melody had managed to get back to the bait shop and just in time to. Zanny was in his thoughts again with his car door open. Melody used this chance and bolted into his car without him noticing. She hid in the same spot that she had used earlier, under the passenger seat. Zanny got into the car, started it up, and drove home. He was still completely unaware that the thing that he cared for most was in his back seat, mere inches away.

When getting home, Zanny opened the car door, but stopping to look at the sun set. Melody used Zanny's ability to be completely unaware what's around him to her advantage. She bolted towards the home, going through the doggy door, and heading to her bed. When she reached her bed, she circled around it for a moment and then plopped right down. The sound of the front door opening caught Melody's attention. She knew it was Zanny, but it was a habit of her to look up and to see who came in.

Zanny came walking by Melody, with a smile on his face. He walked pass her, going to the kitchen. He placed his car keys on the counter. He opened the fridge and grabbed something to drink. He then looked up from the fridge, over to Melody who was still staring at him. He chuckled as he pulled out a coke. "Oh Melody, today wasn't the same as all the others. Some interesting things happened today. I bet it was better than yours Melody."

Melody shook her head back and forth, before resting it on her fluffy bed. "Buui bui bui buiiii." Melody soon yawned, before falling asleep. Zanny smiled at her, before going to his bed. "Good night my catching tune of life." Zanny said as he close his bedroom door. What Zanny didn't know was that Melody said something that could easily describe their future. _Yeah I know, but tomorrow is going to be more interesting than today._


End file.
